Specialised moulding and casting using rubbers and plastics is a vast subject. It ranges across a wide variety of industries and practices and embraces many different systems and techniques.
The Curetime Academy is a resource with a progressive and systematic approach to acquiring knowledge and skills across all sectors. The modules in the Academy are grouped under 3 main subject areas – Moulding, Casting and Special Effects.
Each module has an individual reference that identifies it is either moulding, casting or special effects, and there are sub-divisions within each of these three sectors:-

Moulding (ref number begins M) and then by system (gravity pour, brush-on)

Casting (ref number begins C) and then by type of material – (silicone, polyester, etc)

Special Effects (ref number begins S) and then by discipline (prosthetics, props)

Every module has an introduction. Please ensure that you read the introductions as they contain valuable advice relevant to that module within its grouped area of learning. This advice can save you a lot of time and money!
We have deliberately not categorised modules as basic, advanced, etc, because even though you may think a particular module is introductory, it may well contain advice that is new to you!
These modules have been put together based on a large amount of collective learning over many years ... they are very detailed but at the same time easy to follow and we have deliberately kept their format and style as “low-tech” as possible.

General Principles of Moulding
This is a general overview to the principles of moulding designed to give you a better understanding of the systems and techniques that are referred to throughout the learning modules in the Curetime Academy.
Although the modules primarily focus on moulds made from rubber, exactly the same disciplines and processes can be applied when making more rigid moulds for injection moulding, rotational moulding, ceramic moulding and even moulding using hot metals.

What is a Mould?
A mould is quite simply a negative impression of an original master object. A good mould will efficiently make a reproduction, or casting, that accurately reflects the original object. Today it is possible to mould from objects made out of a wide range of materials – plaster, wax, clay, metal, wood, sand, glass – almost anything. With modern safe silicones, it is even possible to mould direct from a person’s skin in what is called life-casting!

Why Rubber Moulds?
Our modules are focused on using silicones and urethanes because of the attractive performance properties of these rubbers. They are used for one-off complex castings, such as in special effects prosthetics, as well as in limited production runs where multiple castings can be achieved before the mould has to be replaced.
Creating a mould out of flexible rubber has a number of advantages:-
• It is easy to release the original model when making the mould
• The reproductions, or castings, are also easy to remove from the rubber mould
• The rubber can reproduce very fine detail
• Multiple castings can be made
• It is a very cost effective means of moulding

Moulding Systems
The pre-cured liquid rubber can be either gravity poured over the model to encase it, or it can be directly applied to its surface – brushed-on (or sprayed).
Gravity pouring the rubber is used to produce either a block mould, where the model is encased in a solid block of rubber, or a much thinner skin mould where the rubber is poured into a specially created cavity around the model. Skin moulds are also created when the rubber is brushed (or sprayed) onto the surface. Skin moulds use up far less rubber than block moulds, but take more time.
Moulds can be one-part or multi-part, depending on the complexity of the model, and they may require a support case, or shell, when the mould skin has little structural strength of its own.

Which Method?
Deciding on which type of moulding process to use is influenced by a number of key factors:-
• Size of the model, its shape and complexity
• What the model is made out of
• Number of reproductions or castings wanted
• The material that the castings are to be made out of
• Timeframe
• Budget.

Using the least amount of moulding material to produce the best reproduction in the shortest time possible will define the optimum method. However the variables are almost infinite - a company involved in rapid prototyping will have very different requirements and expectations to an artist creating a one-off sculpture, or a special effects expert making a facial prosthetic.
In time these Academy modules will build to become an industry wide resource that puts into place foundational knowledge for everyone interested in the fascinating and highly creative business of specialised moulding.